1807-1836 50C Capped Bust, S.S. Central America, NCS Genuine. This salvaged, chopmarked, Capped Bust half dollar comes with the provenance of the ill-fated S.S. Central America. The coin is well worn and has been conserved by NCS, an affiliate of NGC. It is recognizable by denomination and type. The bust of Liberty is outlined on the obverse and the eagle with some of the legend is present on the reverse. The chopmarked coin is a rare historical artifact.

Until the discovery of the S.S. Central America, 1850s double eagles in mint condition were virtually unavailable. The ship, originally called the S.S. George Law, was a United States mail steamship. In 1857 it sank off the coast of the Carolinas because of a huge hurricane. It was a three-mast, side-wheel steamship that traveled between Panama and New York. The journey took approximately 21 days. In the five years prior to its sinking, it has been estimated that the Central America carried about $150 million worth of gold or one-third of all of the gold mined in California. The ship was 272 feet long and had 578 passengers and crew on board. It also had on board over 35,000 pieces of mail, gold bars, nuggets, dust, and 5,200 newly minted San Francisco gold coins from the West, of which the present coin is one. The loss of the Central America triggered the Panic of 1857, which was caused by bank instability and generally poor economic conditions.

In addition to the loss of bullion, many issues of private coiners were lost as passenger gold.  The loss of the Central America triggered the Panic of 1857, which was actually caused by bank instability and generally poor economic conditions. On September 26, 1857, the Philadelphia Public Ledger made the following announcement: The distrust that has pervaded stock and financial circles for the last fortnight was considerably heightened yesterday, by announcement early in the day that the Bank of Pennsylvania had suspended payment. A meeting of the directors was immediately convened, and the business of the bank ceased.The effect of the stoppage by the Bank spread like wildfire, and almost immediately a run was made on all the other banks, which was continued up to the hour of closingthree oclock. Within a week, specie payments were suspended at New York City banks, and a nationwide depression followed.

In 1985, the Columbus-America Discovery Group raised ten million dollars and began to search for the wreck. They found it at a depth of 8,500 feet off the coast of South Carolina. It is estimated that the total coins, ingots, and gold bars were worth more than one hundred million dollars.

There are two different historical views of the cause of the shipwreck. Cedric Ridgely-Nevitt in 1950 said, The foundering of the Central America can best be laid to the inherent structural weakness of a wooden ship so twisted and torn by wind and sea that some part of the water-tight shell gave way. This view is in contrast to that of Erik Heyl, who wrote in 1953, The chief engineer of the CENTRAL AMERICA turned out to be a thoroughgoing coward. He jumped into the last lifeboat as it was still loading, having only half-a-dozen people in it, and by brandishing a huge knife prevented others from leaving the steamer and getting into the boat.the wreck of the CENTRAL AMERICA is due solely to the cowardice of the chief engineer; when he saw water leaking into the engine and boiler rooms, he just quit cold. Presumably if the chief engineer had kept the engine running, the Captain would have been able to keep the ship afloat.

Usually found on Trade Dollars that were made for import to the Orient, a chopmark is a counterstamp of a Chinese businessman, a Chinese bank or bullion house. Once a coin was marked with a chop, it was accepted for full value. Businessmen and bankers stamped chopmarks on each coin they handled. They became a type of endorsement guaranteeing the coins authenticity.

Chopmarks on Bust Halves are practically unknown. Also none of the research done on the wreck of the S.S. Central America indicates the presence of Bust Half dollars on the ship. Perhaps this coin was in the possession of a passenger or crewman as a pocket piece that was kept because of its unusual chopmark. No doubt this piece is a unique and rare part of numismatic history.